Good qualities of a psychiatrist

[heartsink]

So this evening I botched an organic chemistry lab and had to join my neighbor and help him work on his lab instead. I felt pretty defeated having spent many an hour in prep leading up to that lab, and took small solace in the thought that, likely, acid-base extractions using sep funnels will not likely be required of many psychiatrists in the next decade. Then i thought about what actually would be important as long as I could get to that point - thinking on your feet? Patience? Mental fortitude?

What skill-sets, virtues, principles, talents or other qualities do you find are helpful to you as residents or attendings?

I searched but the last two threads on this are from 5-12 years ago

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[Leo Aquarius]

I'm too tired to say anything right now...

 

[Shikima]

All related to medicine until you're very tired and stressed....

 

[smalltownpsych]

Good looks, charm, impeccably dressed, sophisticated, great chef, intellectual giant, phenomenal taste in the arts, cold-blooded sociopathic serial killer. These are just a few that spring to mind after watching a season of Hannibal.

 

[Mad Jack]

The essential quality for a psychiatrist to possess is the ability to obtain a seat in medical school.

 

[Shikima]

Good looks, charm, impeccably dressed, sophisticated, great chef, intellectual giant, phenomenal taste in the arts, cold-blooded sociopathic serial killer. These are just a few that spring to mind after watching a season of Hannibal.

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

So this evening I botched an organic chemistry lab and had to join my neighbor and help him work on his lab instead. I felt pretty defeated having spent many an hour in prep leading up to that lab, and took small solace in the thought that, likely, acid-base extractions using sep funnels will not likely be required of many psychiatrists in the next decade. Then i thought about what actually would be important as long as I could get to that point - thinking on your feet? Patience? Mental fortitude?

What skill-sets, virtues, principles, talents or other qualities do you find are helpful to you as residents or attendings?

I searched but the last two threads on this are from 5-12 years ago

Really you only need to look through the last week's postings. Humor.

I think a good sense of humor is crucial to our field. If you can't laugh at some of this stuff it'll eat you alive.

Patience you'll learn, even if you think you have it now, you don't.

Outside of that, pretty much what makes a good overall doctor. Inquisitive mind, empathy...blah blah blah.

 

[MacDonaldTriad]

There are a lot of brilliant MDs who aced every test and got nothing but As in everything. Some of these make the worst psychiatrist imaginable as they have difficulty forming any sort of bond with anything including a retriever puppy. Grades and smarts are important, relatedness, interpersonal skills, and empathy are essential. Picture Doc Martin as your therapist; “Why does everyone think it is so bloody important for everyone to be happy?”

 

[Mad Jack]

When they started selling medical student business cards at my school, all I could think about was this movie.

 

[medimedimedi]

I believe that to be a good psychiatrist, you should first be a good doctor. Rule number one is to rule out medical causes, which are severely underdiagnosed and undertreated. Some study showed that almost 40% of patients presenting to the ED with some kind of psych complaint had a medical problem that when treated, made the psych symptoms better. It's important to be empathic but also to be objective. I've seem some clinicians let their emotions get in the way of their job. They treat patients way too differently based on whether they like them or not, ignoring the fact that medicine is evidence based.

 

[PikminOC]

I believe that to be a good psychiatrist, you should first be a good doctor. Rule number one is to rule out medical causes, which are severely underdiagnosed and undertreated. Some study showed that almost 40% of patients presenting to the ED with some kind of psych complaint had a medical problem that when treated, made the psych symptoms better. It's important to be empathic but also to be objective. I've seem some clinicians let their emotions get in the way of their job. They treat patients way too differently based on whether they like them or not, ignoring the fact that medicine is evidence based.

I find that I am the primary care physician for many of my patients. I order labs and catch things that would otherwise have not gotten caught. One of the major ones I caught was hyperparathyroidism.

 

[medimedimedi]

I find that I am the primary care physician for many of my patients. I order labs and catch things that would otherwise have not gotten caught. One of the major ones I caught was hyperparathyroidism.

Do you get reimbursed for that? I've heard that primary care docs don't get reimbursed for psych diagnoses and psych docs don't get reimbursed for medical diagnoses.

 

[Shikima]

Do you get reimbursed for that? I've heard that primary care docs don't get reimbursed for psych diagnoses and psych docs don't get reimbursed for medical diagnoses.

You get paid for it. Part of the investigative work-up.

 

[WingedOx]

Good looks, charm, impeccably dressed, sophisticated, great chef, intellectual giant, phenomenal taste in the arts, cold-blooded sociopathic serial killer. These are just a few that spring to mind after watching a season of Hannibal.

"also passable as a Bond villain" comes to mind too.

 

[WingedOx]

When they started selling medical student business cards at my school, all I could think about was this movie.

for what? ewww. (the business cards I mean)

 

[MacDonaldTriad]

To impress potential dates of course. Just don't mention the psychiatry part, that really creeps them out and it can be even worse when it doesn't.

 

[Mad Jack]

for what? ewww. (the business cards I mean)

Exactly my thought. What are they in the business of, being a student? If I got a med student's business card, I know exactly what to do with it.

 

[Ceke2002]

I think my Psychiatrist possesses the wonderful ability to refrain from punching people in the face. Apparently when you become a Psychiatrist, besides a medical degree, and fellowship, and a bunch of patients to treat, you're automatically assigned a team of Daleks (ie Insurance company reps and Government purse string types) that have a tendency to follow you around going 'Explain, Explain'. The ability to not beat these annoyances into a writhing, bloody pulp is definitely something you should work on cultivating at some point.

 

[WingedOx]

I think my Psychiatrist possesses the wonderful ability to refrain from punching people in the face. Apparently when you become a Psychiatrist, besides a medical degree, and fellowship, and a bunch of patients to treat, you're automatically assigned a team of Daleks (ie Insurance company reps and Government purse string types) that have a tendency to follow you around going 'Explain, Explain'. The ability to not beat these annoyances into a writhing, bloody pulp is definitely something you should work on cultivating at some point.

so you're NOT supposed to punch people?

grr, my residency didn't teach me anything.

 

[Ceke2002]

so you're NOT supposed to punch people?

grr, my residency didn't teach me anything.

Yes, apparently punching people is frowned upon in the medical profession, unless of course you're doing a precordial thump on someone. But hey, that could be your go to excuse - "I wasn't really hitting them, I was trying to save their life'

 

[DD214_DOC]

Critical thinking; ability to think, "outside the box"; being a genuinely likeable person; ability to connect to others quickly and easily; ability to, "get" people pretty quickly.

I bet a very high functioning sociopath would be a great shrink..

 

[nitemagi]

Good knowledge base, cognitive and behavioral flexibility.

 

[Shikima]

Critical thinking; ability to think, "outside the box"; being a genuinely likeable person; ability to connect to others quickly and easily; ability to, "get" people pretty quickly.

I bet a very high functioning sociopath would be a great shrink..

 

[Leo Aquarius]

Critical thinking; ability to think, "outside the box"; being a genuinely likeable person; ability to connect to others quickly and easily; ability to, "get" people pretty quickly.

I bet a very high functioning sociopath would be a great shrink..

Until they eat the person. Then the therapeutic bond kinda ends.

 

[DD214_DOC]

I only recognize one of them